A two-dimensional clinical intravenous coronary angiography system, comprising a large-size view area produced by asymmetrical re¯ection from a silicon crystal using intense synchrotron radiation from a multipole wiggler and a two-dimensional detector with an image intensi®er, has been completed. An advantage of the imaging system is that two-dimensional dynamic imaging of the cardiovascular system can be achieved due to its two-dimensional radiation ®eld. This world-®rst two-dimensional system has been successfully adapted to clinical applications. Details of the imaging system are described in this paper.
The first clinical examination using a two-dimensional imaging system of coronary angiography with monochromated synchrotron radiation was carried out at the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics in May 1996. A rotating X-ray shutter was developed to produce a pulsed X-ray beam with 2-6 ms of beam spill to suppress image blurring, at a frequency of 30 Hz. A performance test of the X-ray shutter using synchrotron radiation was carried out, and it was verified that the shutter had satisfactory specifications for clinical applications. With this X-ray shutter the monitored radiation dose in clinical examinations was consistent with theoretical expectations and kept within a reasonable level of radiation protection.
Coronary angiography by intravenous injection of contrast material using synchrotron radiation (SR) is a safe and easy method for diagnosis of coronary arteries. In Japan, a two-dimensional imaging system for coronary angiography is being developed. In that case, there exists a problem: Image contrast and visibility deteriorate due to harmful scattering x rays which are made when passing through a patient’s body. Therefore, we have developed a simulation program in order to study the x-ray scattering behavior in a subject using monochromatic x rays and to find a method to decrease the scattering x rays in images using x-ray grids. The calculated results concerning the scattering x rays using the simulation program were compared with experimental results using monochromatic x rays at 33.17 keV from synchrotron radiation.
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